As mentioned in my previous blog “Research and Development”, my aim with this project was to work alongside students from different courses within the University. At first I had in mind to work on film soundtracks as that is my main goal in life, career wise. But I decided against it for two main reasons, the first one being that I found out one of my course mates was doing that so I didn’t really want the competition and didn’t want to be doing the same thing, and secondly being that before going into films later on after University, I want to gain experience in diverse fields, such as working on fashion campaigns, music for advertising and so on, so I thought it would be a great idea to build contacts and work on distinct projects, which one wouldn’t really think of putting music with, just to prove that I can put myself forward in these kind of events.

I got in contact with many courses, but I received a response for a third year business student who was organising a talk about equality at Park Campus. When we started talking she explained to me that because of the topics spoken about she wanted to have a couple of performances to break off the intensity of the event, but still having the music blend in with the nature of the event. So I agreed and told her to leave it to me. I had a vision of what I wanted, I thought of an acoustic set, with quite meaningful and heartfelt songs to go with it. So I got in contact with the best artists at the University who could deliver that and then narrowed it down to Lissie Smith, Sabrina and Adam Thorn.

As I was in charge of the music side of the event, that also meant I had to organise sound equipment, meaning booking out a PA kit and also find a sound technician. The event ran smoothly and we did not encounter any problems at all. Everyone was happy with how the evening went and so was the organiser of the talk. The artists were amazing, especially Lissie with her cover of “Over the Rainbow”, which I thought worked so well with the style of the event and the topics discussed, as it brought positivity to the room.

So I was over the moon with how this event went.

I am now currently working on my next project, which is the end of year degree show for Fashion and Graphic Design, and a few more other courses. I am so thrilled to be working on this one as its an important evening and the attendance will be big.

I am in the process now of figuring out who I want to have perform, again it will be an acoustic set as its a still showcase and I don’t want to take away the attention of the students work. It will be more of a background noise. But I love the fact that it’s live performances instead of a simple playlist as it will make it so much more interesting. I am also talking to the head of the graphic design course, to figure out where we will place the artists, as, if the weather is nice, it would work really well to have them perform outside. The event will be happening on the 6th of June and it will be a private view of the work. So hopefully everything will work to plan.

The outcome of my major project is half what I expected and what I wanted it to be and half not, as I envisioned to have worked on more events. My plan at the end was to have a website and have a starting point to my music supervision business, and I did manage to achieve that. The let down is that I don’t have many projects on there, but that is something that I can work on in the future, as this major project was to help start what I want to do career wise. So overall I am happy with what I achieved.

Music is such an important element when incorporated with moving image, as it sets a scene, emphasises a plot development, or incite a given emotion from the viewer. “Because audio is such an enriching part of the human experience, the phenomenon of convergence, wherein diverse media eventually combine to create a new experience, leads again and again to the inclusion of music and sound effects within various media.” (Ramsay Adams, David Hnatiuk, David Weiss, 2005).

“Media for the eyes and ears, ranging from television to movies and video games, rely on a seamless relationship between sights and sounds to communicate thoughts, feelings and artistic vision[…] There are many scenarios that have a multitude of sonic elements, many of which stem from music. Even in the absence of human speech, music and sound are everywhere around us. Wind makes sound when it passes through trees, and birds make sound when they communicate with one another. Man has long been influenced by these bird songs, wind textures, and all natural sonic elements, and they have often become part of the blueprint for musical works. (RA DH DW)”.

The person in charge of ensuring that the right music is allocated with moving image is called a Music Supervisor. The official definition used by the US Guild of Music Supervisors is very comprehensive: ‘A Music Supervisor is a qualified professional who oversees all music related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games and any other existing or emerging visual media platforms as required. The Music Supervisor provides professional quality service that combines creative, technical and management expertise with relevant proven experience. This specialised combination of diversified knowledge and unique skills is integrated into all stages of development, pre-production, production, post-production, delivery and strategic marketing of the project with regard to all music related elements, combines creative, technical and management expertise and all with relevant proven experience.’ (Ruth Simmons, 2017)

“Everyone in advertising and film understands that your contacts are everything, and music supervision is no exception. Being plugged in to activity from all record labels, publishers, managers, promoters and taste-makers is essential – from major players to indie upstarts – getting hold of the latest and greatest music before anyone else is a key trait for this role. Hunting out those new music gems comes with the territory, and knowing who to get them from is essential. It takes years to build close, trusting relationships with top level music industry contacts, to get insider knowledge before anyone else and ultimately to negotiate the best deals. Another feather to the bow is knowing when and how to look beyond personal taste. Thinking ‘brand’ is key to a successful use of music in an advertising campaign, and it takes true research to dig into what’s right for a particular film and the brand’s demographic. Does this artist’s public image match your brand tone of voice and long-term campaign message? Does their upcoming activity align with campaign timings? Are you maximising audience reach by working with an artist who’s social media impact and existing fanbase attract your target demographic? These and more questions will be asked by a pro music supervisor, and they’ll know where to find the answers.” (Leland, 2016)

Music Supervisors are increasing with importance more and more as time goes, as music is an essential tool in many scenarios, the request for it is always growing. Within the University, there are many potential collaborations between the music course and other courses, but unfortunately not many realise that. That is why I felt that with my major project I wanted to prove how easy it can be and how many possible collaborations can happen. As literally in the same building we have advertising students, film students, fashion students, photography students etc… and so much can be done. Music just elevates the standard of the events put on by these students, and the response I’ve gotten from my requests of working together have always been positive, and I enjoy doing it, because not only it works at the time but you build relationships which can last for years and can be passed on the years below. It is all about creating a community between the different courses at the University and using the resources which are available to us right now to then prepare ourselves for the future, outside of these walls.

The people I worked with were mainly students who were putting on events, and that is my target in terms of clients. I was open to work with anyone as I liked the challenge of sourcing music for unusual events. I wouldn’t really have a target audience as I wasn’t personally organising the events, but I would make sure the music used would be adequate to the scene, and type of people present.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Ramsay A., Hnatiuk D., Weiss A., (2005), “Music Supervision”.
• Ed, (April 2016), “Music Supervisors: Who Needs Em?” Leland Music https://www.lelandmusic.co.uk/blog/musicsupervisors
• Simmons, R. 2017 “What is a music supervisor?” Guild of music supervisors https://www.guildofmusicsupervisors.co.uk/blog/6/what-is-a-music-supervisor

For my major Project I have decided to start up my own company for music supervision events. I will be undertaking a number of projects, between two and five, of different natures, where I will be working alongside clients in need of music in any scenario. Meaning hopefully by the end of it I would have worked with a different number of students studying different subjects, such as business, fashion, advertising and so on… 

So what I would be doing is I’ll be sourcing music for clients with events in need of music. I initially had in mind to just work with film students and source music for their soundtracks, but decided to stir away from that as I wanted to expand my company and really work in different scenarios to make it as creative as possible. I wanted to bring together different courses within the University and showcase how we can all work together to create some amazing projects. I also wanted to prove that music can bring to life so many events that usually wouldn’t think of incorporating the musical side to it.

The end product of my major project will be a website, which will act as a portfolio, collecting all the projects I have undertaken. It will also be the base of my company which I will be using later on when proving what I have done during my third year at University to business I want to work with in the future, as it will be within this sector.